Homeless people have been credited with breaking the investigation into fatal shootings at Brown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), leading authorities to identify the suspected shooter and trigger a $50,000 reward.
The tipster, identified only as John, played a key role after confronting the suspected gunman and later alerting police to critical details about his vehicle.
“He blew the case open,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said, praising the tipster’s actions.
A key tip leads police to suspicions
According to officials, John’s information helped investigators identify Claudio Neves Valente, 48, as the suspect in the shooting that left two Brown University students dead and an MIT professor killed two days later.
Until John came forward, investigators had few leads and no information about a vehicle that could be connected to the shooter.
John first contacted authorities after recognizing the images released by police and posting the details on Reddit, court documents show.
“I’m dead serious,” John wrote in a post cited by the investigator.
“Police need to look at a gray Nissan with Florida plates, possibly a rental car.
A cat and mouse meeting before the shooting
John later told investigators he had a strange encounter with Neves Valente hours before the shooting in the bathroom of Brown University’s engineering building.
He described the suspect’s clothing as “inappropriate and inappropriate for the weather,” a detail that caught his attention.
Sources told Fox News that John was living in the basement of the engineering building at the time.
Suspicious behavior off campus
After meeting in the bathroom, John said he saw Neves Valente outside the building and followed him after noticing strange behavior near a parked car.
“I know this because he used the key fob to open the car, got close to it and then something made him back up,” John wrote.
“When he backed up, he locked the car again. I thought it was weird.”
John later observed the vehicle again as the suspect drove around the block.
“At one point I yelled, ‘Your car is back there, why are you circling the block?'” John told investigators, according to court records.
Suspect answers, police connect the dots
Court documents state the suspect responded, “I don’t know you from anybody,” and repeatedly asked, “Why are you bothering me?”
Using John’s tip about the vehicle — a gray Nissan with Florida plates — authorities were able to review additional surveillance footage, which ultimately led them to identify Neves Valente as the shooter.
The case ends with the death of the suspect
Nearly 24 hours after the break-in, investigators found Neves Valente dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.
Federal authorities have since confirmed that John is eligible for the $50,000 reward offered in the case, citing his key role in solving the shootings.
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